4 hours ago, Yoonseo said:

I have been suffering from severe acne from a VERY young age (9 years old) and now that I am 19 I was wondering if Accutane is worth it?

The thing isI don't have acne on my face, in fact my face is completely clear with the exception of the occasional pimple around that time of the month.HOWEVER I have viscous acne all over my back and chest that makes me extremely self conscious to the point where I don't ever go to the beach or wear anything that shows off skin on my torso (however I love to show off my legs ;)).

That being said I was wondering if Accutane is worth the side effects and such. I've read so many success and horror stories that I'm incredibly overwhelmed and conflicted.

Advice?

Fuck no. It is not worth it. AVOID.

Get Chris Kresser's book and Paul Jaminet's for info on how to cure any health problem naturally. Good luck

protip: eat plenty of liver for vitamin A (not the synthetic vitamin A that accutane is made of)

Yoonseo, I also have experienced severe body acne. People couldn't understand why I refused to go to the pool. Accutane workedbetter and more permanently than any combination of topicals and antibiotics in my experience.

I personally didn't have any side effects besides very dry lips and a little blood in my nose mucus.

I think that the horror stories passing around the internet are a little ridiculous. Accutane has been around for over 30 years, if it was really dangerous it probably wouldn't still exist. Just listen to your doctor, they know more than us. The birth defect thing is definitely real, so take it seriously.

good luck

I say take it. What's the worst that could happen?

The sideeffects are unpleasant, but if you feel you can't handle them, you could come off it.

My acne didn't affect me as much as yours seems to be affecting you - ie your acne is really affecting how you feel about yourself - and yet it was still worth it for me.

If I were you, I would grab it.

Given how your acne make as you feel. You most certainly should goon accutane. The side effects are tough, but you have almost 100% chance of your acne going away. Give it a shot, it's an amazing medication.

you don't provide information as to what you've taken and tried so far. the traditional route is chopping and changing your diet, eliminating dairy, taking zinc, trying OTC products and ending up at the doctor for antibiotics.

my opinion is that for the most part, none of the above really works for acne. antibiotics definitely do work - but usually only at first and then you'll become resistant to them. i definitely think for many patients they actually act as a placebo after a while which can help psychologically but not in actuality.

the only thing which can really take care of the type of acne you describe is isotretinoin. and so yes, if you've followed the ladder described, it is time for isotretinoin. the side effects for most people are dry lips, dry skin and limited liver damage (not worse than binge drinking for a few months). you will see a lot of people on here moaning about xyz, but they are usually a tiny minority, have particular circumstances which apply to them and are also probably slightly crazy. for the vast majority it is very helpful and the side effects are minor. remember this is where everyone will take to writing their negative experiences about the drug, those who are positive will not post, they are the overwhelming majority.

the psychological issue of waiting to get prescribed the drug, getting on the drug, having an initial breakout and waiting for months for it to clear can piss a lot of people off - and it's also not the most pleasant drug to be on, but as i say side effects are relatively limited.

if you do go on it, you need to make sure you are:

a) on it for longer than 2 months after you have complete clearance

b) are not at too high a dose relative to your bodyweight - side effects increase

c) but are still receiving a decent enough dose to receive an overall cumulative dose of 110-120mg x bodyweight - most people who receive under finds it does come back and they either resign themselves to live with it or go on another course

Thank you all for yourwonderful advice! I think I'll give Accutane a try as soon as my dermatologist gets off his winter break. I've tried everything out there from topical treatments to antibiotics and nothing has worked, at least permanently. I eat healthy, sleep well, and work out tons so the fact that this was happening to me was so bizarre to me. I'll most likely post my journey on here so stay tuned for updates!